The present invention relates generally to display of information on a graphical user interface, and more particularly to display of supplementary information.
A graphical user interface (GUI) is an effective mechanism for a user to provide input to and receive output from software applications. As software applications have grown increasingly more complex, GUIs have correspondingly grown increasingly more complex. Particularly sophisticated GUIs have been developed for interaction with websites on the Internet. These GUIs are commonly referred to as web browsers. Via a GUI, a user may enter information, retrieve information, and execute commands. A common user input device for interacting with a GUI is a mouse. For example, to execute a command, the user may use a mouse to first position a cursor over a virtual function key and then click the mouse to execute the command.
Many websites support multiple multimedia tasks: displaying text and graphics, playing music and videos, sending e-mail, and performing information searches are only a few examples. Often, many multimedia tasks are grouped together on a single webpage. As the number of virtual function keys on a single webpage has increased, the size of virtual function keys has correspondingly decreased to avoid consuming a large portion of display space. Consequently, virtual function keys often have minimal associated text or no associated text (icons). At the same time, as the variety and complexities of functions supported by a GUI continue to increase, it becomes less clear what function is associated with a specific virtual function key. A popular solution for clarifying operations is to display supplementary information (such as “help” information) providing more details associated with a specific function key. In some instances, the user positions the cursor over a region (for example, marked with a “?”) next to the virtual function key and clicks the mouse to display help information. In other instances, the user maintains the cursor in a stationary position over the virtual function key and help information is automatically displayed. Typically, the help information is displayed in a help window in the neighborhood around the virtual function key. Consequently, the primary information in this neighborhood is blocked. This mode of presentation may be deleterious if the help information references the primary information in the neighborhood itself.
A mode of presentation similar to a help window may also be used to display supplementary information associated with other information elements. In one example, a user may position the cursor over the keyword “indium” in a chemistry article. A display window containing key physical parameters (such as melting point) and a synopsis of industrial applications may automatically open up. In a second example, a user may position a cursor over a financial chart. A display window containing an explanation of the axes of the chart and providing details of the plotted data may open up. In a third example, a user may position the cursor over a specific component in an assembly diagram. A display window containing instructions on how to connect the specific component to another component may open up. As in the case of a help window, however, the display window blocks the primary information in the neighborhood of the information element of interest. For example, if the display window blocks a portion of the assembly diagram, the user needs to toggle the display window on and off to refer to the assembly diagram while reading the assembly instructions. What are needed are method and apparatus for displaying help and other supplementary information without blocking primary information of interest on a GUI.